And the Heart Beat Goes On
by Rosa Cotton
Summary: Discussions between a small group of friends center on new acquaintances, one girl's latest crush, and a possible match for another.


And the (Heart) Beat Goes On

Disclaimer: _Nancy Drew_ and the _Hardy Boys_ do not belong to me; this story gives me no profit but fun. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

"I'm in love!" Bess exclaimed dreamily as she burst into Nancy's room and flopped onto her friend's bed, causing the other girl to bounce up and down a little with the mattress's movement.

Her eyes dancing with amusement, Nancy happily turned her attention away from her textbook and to her friend. "Again?" she asked with a laugh.

"Again," George confirmed wearily as she came into Nancy's room. Shifting her backpack from her shoulder to the floor, she sank into the chair at Nancy's desk. "And she won't stop going on and on…" She shook her head.

"Is he a new boy at school?" Nancy asked. The first three days of school had been such a whirlwind of activity that she had barely seen Bess and George, except for a quick "Hi, bye!" while dashing through the halls.

"No, he lives in Bayport," Bess said, sighing again.

"Isn't that where you two went on vacation?" Nancy's gaze swayed between the two cousins, "Just a step away from the Atlantic Ocean?"

"Yep, that's the place," George nodded.

"Well? Who is he?" Nancy pressed when Bess toyed with some of her blond hair while smiling dreamily up at the ceiling.

"Okay," Bess said, sitting up with a burst of energy, "we told you all about our vacation, right?"

"Vaguely. You enjoyed seeing your friends and cruising the bay. You also mentioned there was some excitement," Nancy answered slowly.

"Excitement!" Bess giggled; George rolled her eyes. "About week before we had to go home, Sarah wanted to show us more of the country. Well, we somehow blew a tire. Sarah had a spare in the trunk, but none of us knew how to replace it. We decided we would have to walk to a phone; the last house we had driven by was about two miles back."

Sensing where the story was headed next, Nancy leaned forward. "And then…" she trailed off, smiling.

"And then not five minutes after we've started walking, a car goes by and stops." Bess placed her hands over her heart. "It was two guys – brothers – and they asked if we needed any help. We explained about our flat, and they offered to change it."

"Our rescuers, right on time," George put in. "I think Joe was a goner the moment he saw Bess," she added, her lips twitching.

"Did you think so?" Bess looked at her cousin with surprise.

The dark-haired girl nodded. "He sure flirted with you enough once he and his brother had changed the tire."

Bess giggled happily and flopped backwards on the bed. "He did, didn't he?"

Nancy's head had moved back and forth between them like a spectator's at a tennis match. "So, _Joe_ is it?"

"Yes, Joe," Bess affirmed. "Joe Hardy, and he is really good looking. He has blue eyes and blonde hair.

"Frank's handsome, too. Unlike his brother, he has brown hair and eyes," George added.

"So you eventually bid your knights farewell and drove off into the sunset without giving your telephone number? The end?" Nancy asked with a suppressed giggle.

"As crazy as it sounds," Bess said with a grin, "we saw them again."

Nancy burst out laughing. "What, did you secretly leave a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow? Or did you lose a glass slipper somewhere?" she teased in between fits of laughter.

"Stop it." Bess hit her friend's arm lightly, yet her eyes twinkled. "No and no. The day before we left, Sarah took us to a barbeque at her cousin's and…they were there." She shrugged.

"Isn't it a small world?" Nancy mused.

"Very small," George agreed. "Joe and Bess were like twins; where there was one, the other was not far off."

"It must be Bess's way with guys," Nancy offered.

"Or something."

"But you won't believe what we found out!" Bess said excitedly, sitting up again. "Joe and Frank, like a certain person we know, have a habit of solving mysteries."

"Really?" Nancy's eyes lit up with interest.

"Uh-huh. The world keeps getting smaller," George commented.

"They've solved a bunch of cases. Joe told me about some of them, but now I cannot remember any of them. So I just had to mention you, Nan."

"Oh, Bess..." Nancy sighed.

"I did. And they were very interested in hearing about your work," Bess said. "They wouldn't mind meeting you, Frank especially," she added, her eyes twinkling.

Nancy raised one eyebrow. "_Bess_."

"Well, I think so!" the girl protested. "He was very interested in hearing about you, and he thought you are quite pretty."

"You showed him and Joe my picture?"

"Yes, of course." A dreamy expression came over Bess's face as she added, "You two would look so cute together."

Nancy shook her head, though she could not keep from blushing. She glanced at George.

"I was not part of this…matchmaking. I found out when I joined them and the pictures were already being shared." She spread her hands. "My honest opinion? I think you would get along with Frank and Joe very well."

"Being detectives, we could instead view each other as rivals," Nancy said.

"Oh, I doubt that," Bess waved away the idea. "I gave Joe my phone number, and he promised to keep in touch. Some meeting will be arranged."

"Only you, Bess, only you," Nancy said fondly and shared a smile with the two cousins. For a moment she wondered what Frank Hardy was like, then pushed away the thought and reached for her textbook.

THE END


End file.
